Should I repair or scrap my old car?

deku

My Renault Clio 56 plate just failed its MOT badly, with about 5 majors problems that will cost around £700 to fix. On top of that I've been using my spare tyre, as on of my alloys is completely irreparable. There are also some advisories like wheel tread (if you need full details just ask) It only has 38,000 miles on the clock, and I barely drive compared to most people, just seems to always need repaired. Some friends and family have been telling me its time to get a new car, but I wouldn't be willing to spend over £2000, as I'm trying to keep as much money as possible to either travel or buy a house. Any advice would be appreciated.

Herzlos

£2000 will barely get you a newer Clio, maybe 3-4 years. You're barely doing any mileage so there's no real saving there.


Spending £700 to repair that one (assuming it's not about to rot to bits) is always going to be a better idea than spending £2000 on a complete unknown someone else was getting rid of.


What are the major problems?

AdrianC

The question, surely, has to be more "Do you need a car at all?" than "Is it worth fixing that car?". How many miles have you done since last year's MOT? And the year before?

Give us the MOT fail/advisory list, sure, but remember that things like "wheel tread" (by which you mean tyre tread) are simple wear and tear, while damaged wheels are because you've driven into things. Neither of those are inherent issues with the car itself.

deku

Major defects are:
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates ABS fault.
Brake disc significantly and obviously worn (front)
Suspension arm ball joint excessively worn Nearside Front
Parking brake inoperative on one side Offside Rear
Integral body structure or chassis has excessive corrosion, seriously affecting its strength within 30cm of a body mounting Offside Rear (sill)
Parking brake efficiency below requirements.

I drove 4000 miles since my last MOT, which surprised me as I didn't think I drove as much as that.

AdrianC

The only one of those that's not just a simple consumable is the sill rot - and that's not necessarily the end of the world. A quick and simple patch and some wax injected may well be good for years to come.

deku

Yeah the mechanic said the reason it was so expensive was because of welding, which I assume needs to be done for the corrosion? Just this plus my insurance coming up, making we wonder whether its worth it or not. My brother also has a car and I wonder if itd be better if I just got insured on that. Problem is we're both relatively young (23 and 22) insurance might be through the roof.

bertiewhite

deku wrote: »

Problem is we're both relatively young (23 and 22) insurance might be through the roof.

Why would it be any more than you're paying now? It's likely to benefit both of you, although you'd lose any NCB you've built up on your car after 2 years.

AdrianC

If the car's being shared, you could alternate the policyholder to keep NCB "alive". It'll build it up more slowly, sure, but it won't lose what's already there.

jk0

Go with the repairs in my book. Be thankful your car was not made in 1976 and you were 22 in 1987. You'd have had welding to do every year for some time by now.

bertiewhite

AdrianC wrote: »

If the car's being shared, you could alternate the policyholder to keep NCB "alive". It'll build it up more slowly, sure, but it won't lose what's already there.

I used to do that when we were a 1 car couple - an advisor at one company admitted once that they didn't like people doing it but there wasn't much they could do about it.

System

A £2000 car can easily have enough hidden problems. Always best to keep what you have going until the day comes when you do get a £2000 bill (a write off). Plus 38k on the clock is quite good.